Movie Reviews for Writers: The House Across the Lake

The House Across the Lake is a nifty little 1953 noir (also called Heat Wave) that shares a lot in common with other thrillers of the time, such as Double Indemnity. The biggest difference, and the reason I’m reviewing it here, is that in this case, the unlucky and love-lorn protagonist is a pulp novelist. 

Mark Kendrick rents a bungalow to focus on his writing. He’s behind, and he needs to get chapters to his agent so they can be presented to his publisher. But across the lake is a beautiful woman (Carol Forest) and a wealthy man (Beverly Forest). Torn between falling in love with Bev’s wife and enjoying his friendship with Bev, Mark learns quickly to walk an emotional tightrope. Then that tightrope leads to murder.

A solid noir thriller, I was surprised to see that although the movie painted Kendrick in rather broad strokes, it still had several interesting things to say about the writer’s life. 

For example, when Mark meets Beverly for the first time: 

Beverly: By the way, I don’t know your name.
Mark: Kendrick. Mark Kendrick.
Beverly: Kendrick. Sounds familiar.
Mark: I’d like to think it was because you’d read some of my books. 

Wouldn’t we all?

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https://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2023/05/movie-reviews-for-writers-house-across.html